This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's the last weekend of March! April will bring with it the NHL playoffs. Saturday is busy for the league, and we're left with six evening games for DFS purposes with the first pucks dropping at 7 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Only two teams are on the second leg of a back-back. The Rangers are on the road, though they're facing the Sharks. And the Blue Jackets are visiting the Senators, so there's DFS opportunity there.
GOALIES
Calvin Pickard, EDM vs. CGY ($8,100): Stuart Skinner could return from his head injury, but he also didn't travel with the team to Seattle for the last matchup meaning there's a good chance Pickard will be back in net. The Oilers need a win here in the Battle of Alberta, and they need to do it while shorthanded. Fortunately, the Flames may be able to help having only averaged 2.61 goals per game.
Anthony Stolarz, TOR at LOS ($7,700): Honestly? The goaltending options are pretty slim for Saturday. Stolarz is enjoying a strong season with a 2.40 GAA and .917 save percentage through 28 games. The Kings may play elite defense, but they are below average offensively ranking 20th in goals per game, 19th in shots, and 28th on the power play.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Macklin Celebrini, SAN vs. NYR ($6,800): Celebrini is the real deal, and he's locked up the Calder with 25 points over his last 27 outings with a whopping 100 shots. The Rangers have allowed the fifth-most shots per game and will be away for the second straight night. San Jose isn't an offensive threat as a unit, though Celebrini definitely is.
Patrick Kane, DET vs. BOS ($6,100): The Wings are all but out of the playoff race, but Kane hasn't checked out having racked up 19 points and 48 shots through 16 matchups. Boston has gotten poor goaltending all season and come in with a 3.30 GAA.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Senators vs. Blue Jackets
Dylan Cozens (C - $5,400), Drake Batherson (W - $5,100), David Perron (W - $4,300)
The Blue Jackets, on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, are bottom-10 in GAA once again. Daniil Tarasov is in line to start on Saturday and he enters with a career .899 save percentage. This trio of Senators with "D" names has been skating together as of late, and this matchup is an A-plus opportunity.
Cozens has played well since arriving from Buffalo with eight points in 10 games. He also hasn't been too lucky over that stretch with an 11.1 shooting percentage. Batherson has registered a point in eight of his last nine. He's also accumulated 26 power-play points while Columbus maintains the 25th-ranked penalty kill. As the Sens push for a playoff spot, Perron has found his form with seven goals and three assists through his last 13 appearances.
DEFENSEMEN
Thomas Harley, DAL at SEA ($6,700): Harley has managed multiple points six times in his last 14 outings, which is quite impressive for a blueliner. Joey Daccord is coming off a strong start against the shorthanded Oilers, but that hasn't been the norm for him as he's posted a 3.55 GAA and .881 save percentage from his last 11 games.
Thomas Chabot, OTT vs. CLM ($5,600): Jake Sanderson has surpassed Chabot this season, though the latter has still been contributing offensively with 34 points and 159 shots on the campaign while also also blocking 124 shots. Chabot will log plenty of ice time against a Blue Jackets team bottom-10 in GAA and shots allowed that will also be playing their second matchup in as many days.
